Lennon: Northern Ireland’s loss will be Scotland’s gain

Neil Lennon admitted it will be a bitter-sweet feeling to see Michael O’Neill take the Scotland job.

Press Association Sport understands O’Neill is currently considering his future as Northern Ireland boss following talks with the Scottish Football Association on Thursday.

He has long been favourite to succeed Gordon Strachan as Scotland boss following his fine work with Northern Ireland, which saw them qualify for Euro 2016 before narrowly missing out on this year’s World Cup after they were knocked out in the play-offs.

O’Neill’s countryman Lennon admitted that while it will come as a blow to him personally, he feels it will be a good deal for Scotland.

“He’s done an amazing job with Northern Ireland and leaves a huge hole for the IFA (Irish Football Association), so from my point of view it’s a body blow,” the Hibernian boss said.

“But from Scotland’s point of view they have a guy who knows the international scene very, very well.

“He’s very smart, tactically astute and very familiar with the Scottish game and he lives in Edinburgh.

“I think it’s a very good appointment if it comes to fruition.”

O’Neill has two years to run on his current contract but the SFA are believed to have agreed a £500,000 compensation fee with the IFA after taking their time to assess their options.

Steven Naismith, who was a regular in the squad under Strachan, thinks the board have gone the right way about appointing a successor.

He said: “I think the SFA have done the right thing in trying to find a manager that suits the long project for the country rather than a knee-jerk reaction.

“We’ve not got any competitive games for a while which buys you time.”